“A voice was calling out to me and then…” Baekhyun’s frown deepened as he gathered his thoughts. “My mind went blank.”

Lightning struck the sky, framing Baekhyun as he stood at the edge of the cliff. Chinsun bit her thumb, unease crawling in her stomach as she exchanged a look with Jongin. In an instant, all three of them snapped  their heads in the direction of the cliff, sensing a vengeful presence approaching them. Chinsun and Jongin instinctively grabbed Baekhyun, pulling him away from the edge and shielding him behind them.

The tattoos on Chinsun’s arm started glowing a black so intense that Baekhyun thought the bujeok was going to jump out of Chinsun’s skin. Rain started scattering around them, blurring their vision, but Jongin’s sharp eyes latched onto the skeletal claw-like fingers that was grabbing onto the edge of the cliff where he stood himself only moments ago trying to pull up Chinsun and Baekhyun.

“Is that…?” Baekhyun exhaled, not daring to finish his sentence.

Another skeletal hand appeared, this time reaching further over the edge and clutching onto the grass that withered under its touch. Then, at an excruciatingly slow speed, what appeared to be a cloaked head appeared as the hands pulled the rest of the body up. Another roar of thunder resounded in the air, like angry drums welcoming Kim Sungil who had risen from the cave just under them.

Kim Sungil’s sunken face greeted them and although his eyes were hollow — showing a pure endless abyss — his toothless mouth was spread out in a grin so wide that it looked as though his jaw was about to split. His shoulders were rising and falling erratically and black smoke emitted from his open mouth, as if he was panting from excitement and exhilaration for finally finding his prey.

The sound of waves crashing against the rocks mixed with that of the angry rain hitting the ground. Baekhyun momentarily forgot how to breathe and doubled over when he felt a stabbing pain his left eye when Kim Sungil pointed a claw-like finger towards him.

“Baek?” Chinsun gasped, crouching down to Baekhyun’s height.

“Stay with him.” Jongin glanced at Chinsun. “I’ll deal with Kim Sungil.”

Without giving Chinsun a chance to respond, Jongin dashed towards Kim Sungil, swinging his kīla with great confidence. Baekhyun had covered his left eye with his hand, but his right eye followed Jongin’s movements.

“Focus on me,” Chinsun whispered firmly.

Her words however failed to reach Baekhyun's ears as he started hyperventilating. Pushing a strand of wet hair away from her face, Chinsun cupped her hands over Baekhyun’s ears and pushed her forehead against his while blocking his view. The touch of her skin seemed to bring back some warmth into Baekhyun’s body and enabled him to focus on Chinsun’s mouth.

“Look. At. Me,” Chinsun said slowly, purposefully emphasising the shape of .

Baekhyun moved his mouth along with the words Chinsun was uttering, chanting them soundlessly as though it was a protective charm. After repeating it three times, Baekhyun finally regained control of his breathing and the pain that he previously felt in his left eye faded to  a dull thump at the side of his skull.

They had no time to rest however because a gust of wind brought along a group of evil spirits that scuttled towards Baekhyun like cockroaches to rotting cheese. Reaching into her pockets, Chinsun pulled out a handful of talismans written with the Cinnabar. In one swift motion, Chinsun held the talismans between her index and middle finger and stuck it onto the ground, forming a circle around herself and Baekhyun. Clapping her hands together, Chinsun’s tattoo glowed a deep crimson red — the same colour as the Cinnabar ink — and activated the protective barrier. One spirit tried to step into the circle only to find its limbs catching fire, the flame crawling along the rest of its body until it disintegrated to ashes which then got washed away by the rain. A couple of other foolish spirits tried to break the barrier but met the same demise. Thus, the remainder of the now powerless spirits lurked around Baekhyun and Chinsun, waiting for either of them to step out.

Just a few feet from them, Jongin was engaged in an intense battle with Kim Sungil, neither showing signs of backing down any time soon. The wind and rain was sending his fringe into his eyes, but Jongin ignored that hindrance as he remained on the offensive, refusing to give Kim Sungil even one moment of rest. However, Jongin felt his limbs growing heavier and heavier due to how much he was jumping and moving while Kim Sungil easily evaded his attacks. Due to the accumulating water, Jongin slipped on some mud, making him lose balance. This prevented him from predicting Kim Sungil’s attack which sent him flying back, rolling through the mud and landing face flat into the ground.

Chinsun held back a gasp when she saw Jongin coughing up blood as he struggled to push himself back up. Biting her thumb, Chinsun’s eyes darted between Jongin, Baekhyun and the lurking evil spirits. Inhaling deeply, Chinsun pushed her hair back and turned towards Baekhyun, staring straight into his eyes.

“Do not leave this circle under any circumstances okay?”

Baekhyun’s eyebrows twitched. He opened his mouth to protest, not wanting Chinsun to go out there and risk her life but immediately pursed his lips when he saw the worry and determination blazing in her eyes. Swallowing back his words, Baekhyun’s lips curled into a shaky smile as he nodded. Giving Baekhyun’s hand a tight squeeze, Chinsun then jump out of the circle and straight towards Kim Sungil who was snaking towards Jongin. When Chinsun had let go of his hand, Baekhyun had instinctively reached out his arm to grasp onto her warmth again.

“Don’t you dare,” Chinsun growled, taking out a spare talisman and throwing it towards Kim Sungil.